Pianist Paik Kun-woo on Tuesday urged young musicians to broaden their musical horizons and find their own artistic paths, ahead of the release of an autobiography marking the 70th anniversary of his career.
Paik, one of South Korea's most celebrated classical musicians, made his debut performing a piano concerto with a local orchestra in 1956 at age 10. He later trained at New York's Juilliard School and built an international career through performances at prestigious concert halls and collaborations with renowned orchestras and conductors.
Reflecting on a career spanning seven decades, Paik is set to publish the autobiography, roughly translated as "Paik Kun-woo: My Story," on Nov. 20.
The autobiography traces his childhood, studies in New York, decades spent in Europe and his musical encounters with the works of composers including Beethoven, Chopin and Schumann.
"What I experienced during my 65 years living abroad is, in a sense, both my personal history and Korea's history," Paik said of his motivation for writing the book during a press conference in Seoul. "By telling this story, I thought it could help the next generation in some way."
The book also explores the barriers and limitations artists must overcome, the struggles involved in that process and Paik's persistent pursuit of new artistic expression.
"It was not easy to deeply understand Western music in Europe in the 1960s, when people did not even know that a country called Korea exists," he said. "Understanding art requires efforts, and there are still many walls to overcome and mountains to climb, so my experience may help."
Asked what advice he wished to offer younger musicians, Paik said they should look beyond a narrow musical world and learn to choose the repertoire that suits them best.
"What I want to tell young musicians is that we still seem to remain within too narrow a sphere when approaching music," he said. "I hope they can see a wider world. They also need to cultivate the ability to find the repertoire that fits them best. That is not something a teacher can do for them -- it is something they must do for themselves."
Paik also chose to hold collaborative concerts with young musicians rather than another solo recital to mark the anniversary.
His concerts, set for Nov. 29 at Suseong Artpia in Daegu and Dec. 2 at the Seoul Arts Center's Concert Hall, will feature seven young pianists and two percussionists performing alongside him in an ensemble built around four pianos.
The setlist includes Simeon ten Holt's "Canto Ostinato" and George Crumb's "Music for a Summer Evening," as well as piano ensemble arrangements of the overture to Mozart's "The Magic Flute," Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" and the second suite from Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe."
"In the past, I could not pay much attention to younger musicians," Paik said when asked about his reason for planning the collaborative concerts. "But recently, watching them, I felt they were doing so well that I wanted to give them closer lessons and work with them."
Paik said teaching is about more than just technique, noting that each student faces different circumstances and that their relationships with family and society shape their music.
"It is not just about playing fast or slow," he said. "Before a lesson, my teacher, Rosina Lhevinne, would ask students how they were doing, whether they had any problems or whether they had a girlfriend. All of that comes together in the music."
He recalled meeting young pianists after competitions and seeing some break down in tears during their conversations. "Music is not something you can make simply by memorizing the score," he said.
Paik also called for greater engagement with contemporary music, arguing that pianists should not focus only on works written centuries ago.
"At some point, I felt I had to play contemporary music," he said. "To bring into the world, with my own hands, a piece no one has ever heard before -- how exciting is that? Working with a composer to create a work is an incredibly valuable experience for a performer."
As a musician who still has so much to explore at age 80, Paik rejects the idea of retirement.
"There is no such thing as retirement in art," he said. "As long as there is passion, it continues. The world of music is boundless, so I just need to find the repertoire that suits my age."
